On Github, I permanently deleted a file and removed all commit history, yet the link to the commit still works, is there a way to remove the link too?

Question

I've followed instructions on github's website to permanently remove a file and all commits associated with it. I've tried every option, but when I type in the link to the commit, such as:

https://github.com/{username}/{folder}/commit/{commit_id}

the history still appears there, even though my profile has no trace of this commit anymore.

This leads me to think that any changes are permanently left on Github, just that it is unlinked to your profile? Am I doing something incorrect or is this the reality of the situation? Thanks.

Commits are hard to remove. GitHub do not actually do the physical compaction immediately, and until then, you can still find the commit by its raw hash ID. (It's not clear to me how often they do real compaction.) — torek, Oct 17 '18 at 22:14
Possible duplicate of [Remove sensitive files and their commits from Git history](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/872565/remove-sensitive-files-and-their-commits-from-git-history) — phd, Oct 18 '18 at 14:33
https://stackoverflow.com/search?q=%5Bgithub%5D+remove+sensitive+files — phd, Oct 18 '18 at 14:34

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Oct 18 '18 at 05:16

Am I doing something incorrect or is this the reality of the situation?

It is the situation, and what allows me to benefit from a poor man reflog (using past push event to retrieve a commit deleted locally)

You would need to contact GitHub support to request a full gc in your remote repo.

On Github, I permanently deleted a file and removed all commit history, yet the link to the commit still works, is there a way to remove the link too?

1 Answers1